But my first main character, Gloriana June Hemphill, has a birthday that coincides with a national holiday.
A great excuse for a blogpost, right?
I previously wrote more about Glory and her
July 4th birthday HERE.
I'm eternally grateful for all the teachers and librarians who've shared my book, Glory's birthday and Freedom Summer with young readers.
Horn Book recently included GLORY BE in a new list of books about Freedom Summer.
And I'm beyond excited to have been invited to talk about my book and what I know about that summer. I'll be in Oxford, Ohio, home of Miami University where so many of the 1964 Freedom Summer workers were trained. Details to follow. At least one of the events will be open to the public, so I hope to see a few Ohio friends there!
If you missed the remarkable movie, FREEDOM SUMMER via PBS, here's a link:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/introduction/freedomsummer/
Have a terrific July 4th weekend, everybody!
(And listen to Elvis, Glory. He doesn't wish just anybody a happy birthday.)
Happy Birthday to Glory and Happy 4th of July to you.
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten that Glory's b-day is July 4th. :-)
ReplyDeleteThat date is significant in The Healing Spell, too. Livie's sister Faye gets married in the backyard that evening. They decorate in red, white, and blue and have fireworks over the bayou - because Faye's new husband is in the military and that's his favorite holiday.
Great minds, eh? :-)
Great minds, indeed!
ReplyDeleteI think young readers get to know our characters via things like birthdays and special celebrations. Not to mention, I'm a big fan of July 4th myself. ;)
Thanks for checking in and happy book birthday to FIREFLIES!